


Just A Taste

by Kryosfear



Category: Ben 10 Series, Ben 10: Alien Force - Fandom, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
Genre: Cousin Incest, Cousins, Developing Relationship, F/M, Falling In Love, Humor, Incest, Love, Love Confessions, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 03:44:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14440731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kryosfear/pseuds/Kryosfear
Summary: Gwen calls her cousin Ben in the middle of the night and asks him to come over because she has something important to tell him, naturally he rushes to her aid, and is more than a little surprised by what happens when he does.





	1. Chapter 1

Ben pulled up at his aunt and uncles’ house.

Since they were out of town on a second honeymoon, he felt weird being there, and so late at night too. But his cousin asked for him. She said she needed to talk about something, and he knew it must be something big for her to drag him out of bed in the middle of the night. But even if it wasn't, he just couldn't say no to his cousin. They grew up together, she was his best friend and was like a sister to him, he would always be there for her.

He turned off his car and sat perfectly still thinking ‘what could be so important?’

No aliens are attacking the city, no imminent threat is heading towards earth, and he hasn't done anything to tick her off lately, as far as he could tell, so why was he here?  
'Did something happen with Kevin? Did that bastard do something to her?'  
he sighed and muttered. "sitting here worrying won't get anything done,"

He got out of his car and walked towards the house, he looked up at Gwen’s room and saw a dim light on.

"She must be reading her spell books," he said to himself.

He thought about knocking, but remembered what Gwen had told him about 'just coming in' Shrugging off his worries he made his way inside using the key Gwen gave him for emergencies.

The house was quiet and almost eerie. Other than the dim light drifting from Gwen’s room no illumination could be seen, save the omnitrix's signature green glow. which in all honesty, only helped fuel the creepy atmosphere. He tentatively made his way to the bottom of the staircase, careful not to trip over any furniture. All the while pondering what would await him at the end of his dead mans march to his cousins bedroom.

'Maybe she just has a new spell to show me... Who am I kidding? I'm not that lucky’

Once at the stairs he looked up towards his destination, still unsure what reasons Gwen had to call him here at this hour, but determined to find out. Thinking back to their phone call to try and refine his "deductions" about this strange situation he was currently in.

“H-Hey Gwen, I was just about to go to sleep, I swear,” he quickly said in his defense, believing she was calling to reprimand him on his poor sleeping habits.

He heard her sigh softly “T-That's not why I called, Ben,” she said in an uncharacteristically nervous tone.

He felt slightly relieved that she wasn't going to yell at him, but then even more worried from the distressed sound in her voice.

"Oh..." was the only thing he could bring himself to say

Ages passed on the phone that only served to make ben feel more worried for himself and his dear cousin. breaking the awkward silence, ben questioned delicately, in a nervous voice as well. "So then... Why did you call me"

More time passed before she finally muttered, seemingly pained to say it "I... I need to talk to you"

Ben was never very good at the whole "feelings" junk, but he was always good at reading his cousin, and right now, she was an open book.

She was scared, from what or who, he wasn't sure, but he was sure she needed his help.

Seamlessly switching from his 'childish' to his 'manly' "mode" he asked with all the confidence he could muster

"What do you need," he asked.

He heard her make some kind of noise not unlike a whimper or a squeak. Then she spoke rather abruptly, like trying to cover something up.

"Not now, not on the phone"

He was about to ask her "why not" when she practically read his mind and said "It's too important, can you come over...?"

Before he could even try and protest, she added a sickeningly sweet, almost pitiful "Please..."

Well that was less than helpful" ben muttered to himself, remembering how brave he was on the phone, he steeled himself, as he hesitantly climbed the perilous mountain to the dragons lair... Or something like that.

Reaching the peak of the dragons mountain, that was only about ten stairs, he looked onward to the room-lair of his cousin-dragon and chuckled as he pictured Gwen as a fire-breathing beast.

'Okay, Here we go...' he thought, still trying to convince himself he was a knight going to slay a dragon, as that scenario seemed preferable to reality.

Forcing one foot in front of the other, he eventually reached Gwen’s door, wondering if he should knock or just go in since she was expecting him

He simply stood at her door just listening to her quiet breathing and waiting for something somewhere to give him permission to enter her... Room! Enter her room. He quickly added to his summary of what he was doing, which he had become accustomed to do whenever he was alone with his thoughts.

'Huh, I wonder where that came from'

He decided to just go with the slight insanity he drove himself to due to all the worry leading up to this point, he forced his arm to move until it came in contact with the painted wood door that kept him from the lovely girl in need on the other side.

He fell deeper into his current animal-like persona that being so close, but so far from his cousin had brought, Slowly tapping at this infernal barrier in hopes of rendering it non-existent, in vain of course, but still he knocked on that door until it moved open and relinquished it's hold on the prize within- The perfect sight of his cousin Gwen, sitting on her bed, legs crossed, hair down, wearing what he could only assume was angelic silk sent from the heavens.

All his worries melted away and his mind returning to the sight of her was enough to bring him back to reality, away from his fantasy and fears, and back to this wonderful world that had his beautiful cousin in front of him like this.

Then the next wave of senses hit him, her smell. It seems only fitting that the angel sitting before him would smell so intoxicatingly sweet.

Her wonderful smell attacked his senses, sugars and spice, candies and fruit, perfume and soap, and something so perfect he couldn't hazard a guess.

Before he realized what was happening he was sat beside her on the bed, completely unaware that his legs had been moving him toward that sight and that smell since he first opened the door.

Wearing only a nightgown, she sat fidgeting on her bed, waiting for ben. She had something to tell him, something important.

She needed to get her feelings off her chest, even so, she couldn't help being nervous.

‘How would he react? What would he say? Would he even say anything at all? What if he hated her? What if he never talked to her again?’

Thoughts raced around in her mind until she was jerked back to reality by the sound of quiet knocking at her door.

'You can do this,' she mentally reassured herself.

“Come in, Ben,” she said shakily.

Her heart was pounding a mile a minute, when he sat down next to her she felt like it might fly from her chest.

"Well?" he said "What did you need to tell me?"

Just the sound of his voice made her heart leap. She opened her mouth but no words came out.

Her palms began to sweat as she struggled to confess her feelings to her cousin.

Still so nervous, and somewhat excited, as to why he was here in the first place, and still entranced by his cousins’ beauty, somehow he managed to focus and tried to think of how to let her know she could always count on him.

She could always count on Ben to help her forget all about her worries and troubles, and this time was no exception. She almost forgot the serious reason she called him in the first place until he snapped her out of her blissful fantasy when his hand suddenly rested ever so gently on her thigh.

She almost yelped at how good the sudden warmth and pressure of his hand on her leg felt, but still she sat staring at nowhere in particular, as long as it wasn't her dangerously close cousin.

Ben watched as his cousin sat next to him almost shaking, he wanted to help her but didn't know how, so he simply stared at her. He wondered how she managed to look more and more beautiful every time he glanced at her.

'Not that I think of her like that, she's my cousin after all,'

Wondering who he was trying to convince, he went back to admiring his cousin...in a completely platonic way of course.

She needed to say something, but couldn't find the words, She was just too nervous. She tried to think of some way to tell him what he meant to her, some way to show him...

'Kiss him,' she felt her heart say.  
'Do it,' her body concurred.

'Kiss him,'

'Kiss him,'

'Love him,'

'Kiss him,'

'Make him yours,'

'Give yourself to him,'

'KISS HIM,'

Her heart and body were teaming up against her better judgment, and winning.

Ben saw how anxious Gwen was, and wanted to help, being just as anxious but better at hiding it, he started to ask "Are you alrigh-" but was cut off by a pair of lips entrapping his own.

He'd never tasted anything this sweet, and to his amazement these sweet lips belonged to none other than his cousin Gwen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload of an old story I wrote in 2012.
> 
> https://fanfiction.net/s/8813422/1/Just-A-Taste
> 
> I've finally decided to continue it.


	2. Chapter 2

She did it. She really did it, or, she’s really doing it, rather. She’s kissing him. Nothing worthy of a movie ending, and she’s putting most of her focus on trying not to tremble, but still, a kiss she wouldn’t trade for the world.

Rather than jump back or shove her away like she expected, Ben, to her very pleasant surprise, started kissing her back.

‘You idiot, you were going to talk to him. This isn’t talking,’ she mentally chastised herself.

He placed his hand on her leg and ran his fingers up her thigh to her hip, his finger accidentally slipping under the hem of her silk blouse. At least she was pretty sure it was an accident. 

‘Just push him down, already,’ a stray thought demanded.

Gwen leaned in, pushing lightly against his chest before she quickly broke the kiss and pulled away, her eyes opened wide as the full weight of the situation finally hit her. She just as quickly stood up and walked around the bed to get as much distance between her and Ben as possible. 

“Oh my God, I can’t believe I did that,” she said.

She paced anxiously around the bed, consciously avoiding getting too close to the corner Ben was sitting on.

“Oh my GOD. I…kissed you,” she said.

“I kissed Ben,” she said.

‘And you loved it,’ a thought appeared in her head.

“And I…oh God,”

Ben finally faded back into the moment, wishing he could still linger in that moment with Gwen’s lips even a second longer. He reluctant refocused himself on the now, and turned his head to see his beautiful cousin Gwen pacing around the bed, thinking herself into a beautiful nervous wreck.

“Gwen,” he said softly.

“I don’t know what to say, I’m sorry?” she muttered.

‘But you’re totally not,’ her thoughts chided.

“I didn’t mean…okay I did but…ugh, this wasn’t supposed to go like this,” she said.

‘Not right away at least,’ she thought.

“Gwen,” he said more forcefully as he stood to face her.

“You’re my cousin, I’m not supposed to…” she said.

‘love him,” her inner voice chimed in again.

She instinctively maneuvered past Ben as he stood, blocking her way and continued her rounds back and forth at the foot of the bed, circling around him on each pass while he kept count with synchronized turnabouts so as not to take his eyes off her and her adorable descent into madness.

“What will my parents think? What will your parents think? Hell, they’ll probably never let me see you again,” she rambled on. 

“Hey, Dweeb!” he yelled just loud enough to stun her out of her self-chastising rant.

“What did you call me?” she growled.

He tried not to laugh at her all too familiar reaction.  
“Gwen… I need you to relax, okay? Can you do that?” he said.

She nodded her head a little too fast for him to believe her.

‘uh, no,’ she thought.

She then shook her head just as fast. He believed her that time. 

“...Okay,” he said. 

He placed his hands on her arms and held her firmly.

“It was just one kiss, it’s nothing to freak out about,” he said. 

‘You could freak out a little too, doofus’ she thought.

“Really?” she asked, trying to hide her disappointment.

“Really. Besides, it was way too quick to count. We’d have to kiss for a lot longer than that,” he said.

She looked down vacantly at his shirt, not sure whether to laugh or cry at herself.

“That’s why we should do it again, and make it count this time,” he said.

She instantly looked up at him, doubting her ears and probably every other sense if Ben just said that.

“You…want to kiss again?” she asked warily.

‘Why are you still talking? Kiss. Kiss, kiss!’ her mind shouted.

“I don’t ever want to stop,” he said in realization. 

Ben took a step forward, wrapping his arm around the small of her back and pulling her into a sudden kiss a little sooner than she expected.

She matched his urgency in a heartbeat and soon surpassed it, entwining her fingers behind his neck and shoulders, desperately trying to pull him closer than she knew was possible. 

As she pulled him closer, she moved into him as well, slowly guiding them both until his legs pinned against her mattress. Obviously too preoccupied to notice he could no longer retreat from her constant assailment of loving touches. 

He tried his best to stand his ground, but the pressure of her chest against his, albeit very satisfying, knocked him off balance, easily toppling him back onto the bed and her along with him. 

Landing roughly on top of him, she noticed his laughter against her ear, sparking a contented giggle from her.

She pressed off his chest, wearing the biggest smile of her life as she looked down at him. 

“I...” she began.

‘I…’ she thought.

“…really love you,” she said, in perfect harmony with her thoughts.

He returned her smile and then some. His eyes falling to her lips, clearly struggling to restrain himself. Having lost the battle with himself he grabbed her hips, rolling her over beside him and replacing her previous spot atop him. He slid his fingers under her blouse, running his hand up her side toward a certain piece of fabric he couldn’t wait to get out of the way as he leaned in to continue his new favorite thing in universe. 

“Ben, wait,” she said, pulling the semi-sheer fabric back down slightly.

He paused, forcing his hand to stop despite its insistence on going just a little further. 

“I know, I’m sorry, I’m rushing,” he said.

“No, I just think we should get everything ready before we…go too far,” she scooted further up the mattress and opened her bedside table’s drawer.

“Really? It seriously feels weird to be the voice of reason, especially now, but don’t you think we’re moving a little fast here?” he said.

She stopped searching the drawer and turned back toward him, showing a fond smile that filled him with nostalgia and put him completely at ease. 

“Not at all. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting to be with you for six years, I want to be with you,” she said.

“It’s really been that long, hasn’t it?” he said.  
“Yeah…so you tell me, are we ready for this? She said.

“More than ready,” he nodded.

She smiled and gleefully dove for the drawer once again, rummaging through it by feel in the dimly lit room. As much as ben enjoyed watching her wiggle around, and as great as his view of her rear was at the moment, he saw an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. He stealthily crawled over to her and ran his hand up her thigh while leaning up to her ear.

“Need a hand?” he crooned. 

She giggled and moved against his touch. 

“Thanks, but, I...got it,” she removed a square aluminum package from the drawer and held it up between them with a sense of accomplishment and just a bit of hesitancy.

“I knew there was one Kevin left here,” she said.  
“Ugh, squeamy. Leftovers,” Ben said with a sour face.

“Not ‘leftovers’, idiot,” she pushed him down onto his back, following after to lie flat beside him and dropping the foil square onto the pillow. 

“It’s not like we ever used any…’just in case’, you know?” she said quietly.

“Wait, you haven’t-“ he started.

“What kind of girl do you think I am?” she rolled on her side to face him.

She saw the obvious remark cross his face given their current situation, and to his credit, he didn’t say anything. 

‘you want to be all kinds of things for him, don’t pretend,’ another pesky thought bubbled to the surface. 

“And tonight’s not any indication. It’s different with you…” she said.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said inching toward her. 

Ben was so close, his nose was almost touching hers. Even after that once in a lifetime kiss, and everything that’s happened, it’s still intense being so near to him.

“I know, I just don’t want you to be disappointed. We can’t all be as experienced as you,” she said.

“Wait, what makes you think that I’m experienced?” he asked.

‘Celebrity status much?’ her brain won’t keep its thoughts to itself. 

“Please, I know you, the first chance you had with Julie, you’d have jumped at the opportunity,” she said.

“Shows what you know, I’ve never ‘jumped’ with anyone,” he said, unknowingly jerking his head forward and closing the small gap between the two.

Despite herself, a small smile crept through the corners of her mouth, and she subtly nuzzled her nose against his, causing him to retreat slightly when he realized how close he became.

“I guess we’re in the same boat,” she said softly.  
“Hold up, we switched metaphors, are we going swimming now?” he asked.

She couldn’t help but chuckle at Ben always being Ben.

“No. But I’ve heard it feels a lot like flying,” she said.

Ben’s eyes shot wide open and for the first time, the slightest hint of red tinted his face.

‘So that’s how to shut him up,’ she thought.

‘There’s one more way,’ another thought surfaced.

Gwen slowly brought her lips to his, carefully savoring the sensation, determined to make every kiss from now on as memorable as the last.

Ben teased his fingers under her shirt and drew small abstract shapes along the smooth skin of her abdomen. He couldn’t help but delight in her slight flinches at his touch as he moved his hand higher, dragging the shirt up with it. 

She slid her hands down his chest, absently grabbing at his shirt on the way down toward his pants, hesitating for a moment when she brushed against his skin. She tucked her fingers inside the rough seam of his pants and gingerly undid the button. 

He moved his hand down to her wrist, gently slowing its descent and broke away from her lips unceremoniously. 

Gwen looked at him with a confused hurt that threatened to break his heart if he didn’t explain himself that second. 

“Wait, Gwen. Before…just so you know, you could never disappoint me,” he said.

‘God he’s so cute,’ she thought.

Gwen retrieved the condom from beside her and tore the thin foil package open, all the while never breaking eye contact with him. 

“Just the one?” he said.

“Yeah, guess we’ll have to make it count,” she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to be honest, I never expected this story to get any attention.  
> I wrote it on a dare and promptly forgot about it, for about six years…sorry about that.  
> But it turned out that some people liked it, and I felt I owed them the second chapter they asked for; I know how it feels to wait for a sequel that never comes.  
> I really hope you liked it.  
> Thank you to everyone who read and commented on the original post, and again, I’m very sorry it took half a decade.


	3. Chapter 3

A stray sunbeam streaming through the window gently roused her from what was easily the best night’s sleep of her life. It was almost a disappointment having to open her eyes, that is until she finally did and saw what she was sleeping through.

Her cousin…her boyfr-…her… _Ben_ was lying on his back, blissfully asleep with the faintest hint of a smile rested on his lips. Her angle of sight was a little obscured, but she wouldn’t change it for anything as she happened to be curled up against him, laying her head on his shoulder and resting her arm across his chest.

She could lie there for hours, perfectly content with the sound of his breathing and the subtle beat of his heart pulsing through her palm, and for all she knew she already had. Unfortunately, generic phone alarms exist, and hers happened to be set to go off right now, interrupting her small heaven on earth.

Gwen reluctantly pulled her hand away from his chest and reached over to her side table to retrieve her phone and shut off the ‘ _Just ruin everything why don’t you?_ ’ alarm. Although it was labeled ‘ _wake up_ ’. After a quick motion of her thumb she callously dropped the phone beside her onto the bed.

When she had moved back over toward Ben, she noticed the sudden loud noise had quite predictably woken him up and he was already rubbing his eyes. Her heart soared when his sleeping smile grew into a brilliant one as soon as he saw her face next to his.

“Hi…” He spoke softly, uttering the most he could think to articulate at the moment.

“Hi…” she returned with a blush.

The memories of last night were so much more vivid now that her “ _flying_ ” partner was awake and staring at her so intensely. It didn’t help that she was once again pressed against his body with not even a sheet between them.

A long silence followed, but it wasn’t awkward as it probably should have been, it was just…comfortable, and relaxing. As _relaxing_ as it can be holding the boy you love against your bare skin, with all the tingly sensations that follow.

“Um…” He broke the silence. “Gwen, this…us…”

She stared at him with a fond smirk, emphasizing how silly they were both being. He laughed softly through his sigh, sparking a relieved chuckle from her as she gently rested her forehead against his.

“Yeah…I feel the same way,” she said softly.

Ben grinned from ear to ear.

“What should we do now?” he asked.

“Breakfast? I don’t know, what happens after the first night together?” she said.

“I think we get to decide that, _beautiful_.”

_Did he just? That’s so not fair…_ She thought.

“But then hopefully, the second night together,” he added with a grin.

“Ben,” she said through a humored gasp.

Her phone suddenly chimed from beside her, ruining yet another perfect moment.

“Oh crap…” she said.

Gwen grabbed her phone off the bed, checking the notification before letting out an exaggerated sigh. He looked at her curiously waiting for her to explain.

“Uh, my mom and dad are supposed to be home soon,”

“They’re back _today_?” he asked.

“Mhm, their flight gets in any minute.”

“…I should probably get going then,” he said.

_You should get over here_ , she thought.

“Yeah…” She said.

He looked into her eyes, keeping a firm grip around her slender waist, sanguinely waiting for her to be the one to pull away first.

“Ben, you aren’t moving…” she said.

_Oh, part of him is_ , she thought.

“I know,” he said.

He inched closer, suddenly kissing her gently. She instinctively returned the kiss as he carefully positioned his body up over hers, kissing down to her neck and running his hand down her side.

“We should stop…” She whimpered.

“I know,” he whispered against her ear.

He continued his array of kisses down her body, trading between his lips and his tongue far too randomly for her to brace herself in the slightest. Just as his lips are about to reach between her legs, she quickly placed her hand down to cover herself.

“Wait…I don’t think I’ll, be able to stop if you keep going,” she spoke through soft panting breaths.

“I’m pretty sure that’s the point,” he said with a sly grin.

He kissed the back of her hand sensually in an agonizing tease.

She curled into his touch and arched her hips forward despite her being almost positive she told her body to do the opposite of that.

“Ben, _please_ …” Her voice barely above a whisper.

She watched him carefully, inwardly hoping he would convince her to continue.

_God, those eyes…_ She thought.

He sighed and smiled reassuringly, crawling up toward her laying a precious few more tender kisses as he traveled up her belly and chest, before he finally reached her lips. Each time she felt his lips on her skin she arched into his touch, each time trying and failing to regret her reactions.

“Alright, I’m really going this time,” he said.

He pushed himself up, but found himself immediately pulled back down into another loving kiss as her arms wrapped together behind his back. She eventually managed to force herself away from his lips, but couldn’t stop herself from trailing fleeting kisses up his jaw and cheek.

“You’re not letting me leave,” he smiled.

“… _I know_ ,” she whined.

She threw her head back against her pillow and groaned in frustration at herself. He chuckled sympathetically before following her down and placing a soothing kiss on her cheek. She moved on impulse to chase his lips with her own, but he was already increasing the distance between them as he maneuvered off her and toward the other side of the bed. Unsure whether she was glad one of them was strong enough to leave or upset that it was actually happening, she held tight onto his hand while he slid to the edge of the bed, tangling her fingers with his until the distance became too great and her last finger to grip on fell from his grasp.

_You’re going to regret letting him go._ A phantom thought told her.

Ben pulled the covers off and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning down to grab his boxers off the floor. He stood up and bent over a bit to quickly slip his underwear back on, unknowingly putting on quite a show for Gwen.

Gwen pulled the loose sheet around her body and got out of bed holding the fabric across her chest.

“So, do you have any plans today?” He asked.

He picked his jeans off the floor, pulling them on as he reached for his shirt.

She made her way around the bed toward Ben, timorously clutching the sheet to her body and taking great care not to angle her uncovered back toward him.

“First things first, I need a shower,”

“Now I _really_ want to stay,” he grinned.

“Then my parents will _really_ find out about us,” she playfully chided.

“No other choice then, I better get going…”

He held his wrinkled shirt at his side, making no movement to leave.

“Or…” she stepped closer to him “We could tell them,”

“We could, yeah. Or, we could definitely _not_ do that, like _ever_ , and keep breathing,” he said.

“We’ll have to tell them eventually.”

“Not if we run away together.”

“what?” she thought she could no longer be surprised by the ideas Ben had, but clearly she was wrong.

“I’m serious.” He closed the few remaining inches between them. “Run away with me, Gwen,”

She was pleasantly taken aback by how determined he sounded.

“Alright, where are we going to go?” She responded with a cosseted half-smile.

“Anywhere you want,” he said.

_he didn’t even think past the driveway._ She inwardly chuckled at the thought.

“You’d rather ride off into the sunset than face our family?”

“ _Much rather._ With you…” He said.

“As _tempting_ …” She ran her hands up his chest to rest on his neck. “…and _romantic_ as that sounds, wherever we went, you know they’d find us and drag us back home.”

“Then we go galactic. I’ll ask Coop to give my car a little upgrade, just pick a star,” he said.

_Honestly, this boy…_

She dropped the sheet as she wrapped her hands around him and kissed him with more passion than she originally intended, which was becoming a habit between them. He held her waist and eagerly returned the kiss.

After finally breaking away she took a long shaky breath in through her mouth before she was ready to speak again.

“I pick Sol,” she said hesitantly.

“Great, we can be there by tomorrow,” he said.

“Ben,” she whispered.

“…I know, that’s our star, right?” He swallowed his disappointment.

She placed her hands on either side of his face and held him close.

“Ben, I love you. And I would love to run away with you, wherever you want to go. Someday,” she said.

“Just not _today_ ,” he finished her thought.

She offered a pensive smile and dropped her hands to his shoulders.

“We have a life here, and we finally, _finally_ get to live it together, I want to enjoy that for as long as we can,” she said.

“…You know, your plan actually sounds pretty good,” he said.

He held her closer, running his hands down to the small of her back and slowly reaching further down.

“ _Ben…_ ” she cooed. He smiled innocently and hummed a question. “you _really_ need to go, before I throw you back on the bed,” she finished.

“That’s not a very good threat,” he said.

She gingerly slipped her fingers into the hem of his boxers prompting him to lean in for a kiss as she pulled back the elastic band and snapped it onto his hip.

“Ow, geez, okay,” he said.

A sentimental chuckle escaped her lips.

He reluctantly let his hands fall away from the warmth of her skin and took several steps back, each one more difficult than the last. With her body no longer pressed tightly against his, she instinctively reached her arm up to cover her breasts as she bent down to retrieve the sheet from the floor, much to Ben’s implicit disappointment. Without a word exchanged between them he finished putting on his shirt and shoes. While he was occupied with tying the laces, she’d managed to sneak up next to him, holding his green jacket in her outstretched hand. He smiled a _thank you_ and gingerly reclaimed his jacket.

Each of them with a knowing look, enveloped one another in a tender farewell embrace, neither one sure they should part, neither one voicing their apprehension.

After far too little time to be satisfying, Ben was the first to force himself away and with a stolid grin that wrenched her heart, he turned to leave. Rather than walk past her like she expected, he moved over toward her window, presumably stalling again. She followed after him but before she could decide whether to rebuke, or reassure him, he opened the window and quickly hopped out onto the roof.

“Why exactly are you climbing out of my window?” she asked.

“It’s the only good way to sneak out of a girl’s room,” he stated matter-of-factly.

She looked at him with an incredulous smile.

“Wait, I forgot something,” he muttered.

“What?” she asked.

He stuck his head back through the window and quickly placed a simple kiss on her lips.

“I love you,” he said confidently.

She blinked away her discomposure. It took her a moment to register what just happened, but only a moment. She immediately grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him in for another kiss, dropping all pretense and desperately yearning for more of him. The sound of him catching himself on the windowsill brought her back to reality and she realized her aggressive force on his shirt had him on the verge of collapsing back into her room.

She stiltedly released her grip on his collar and awkwardly apologized with her eyes, he replied only with a chuckle as he smoothed out the rough dishevelment of his white shirt.

“Now hurry up, unless you actually want to get caught,” she said.

“Well, it worked out alright the last time our secret got out,” he said.

He crouched down near the edge of the roof and leapt down to the pavement below.

“Hey, don’t forget, we’re meeting Grandpa Max later” she said.

“Yes, dear,” he called back as he opened his car door.

She withheld a grin as she laughed through her nose.

She watched soberly as he pulled out of the driveway and turned down the street. He waved from his car window while wearing an unmistakably strained smile. She mirrored his movement and returned the fondest smile she could muster as she watched his car disappear around the corner.

She went over to her bed and took a deep breath as she fell back onto the wrinkled sheets and sighed heavily. A contented smile once again returning to her face, likely to become a permanent fixture.

 

~~~~

  
All during his drive home, he thought about turning back to hold Gwen in his arms again, and this time refusing to let go. After his third or so time turning around, only to reconsider and circle back, he decided he would at least go home and make sure he wasn’t grounded for a year before he ran back to the girl he loves.

 

~~~~

  
Gwen carefully stepped out of her bathroom, wrapped in a towel and leaving wet footprints with each step. Still feeling lost in a delightful daze, she looked at the war-torn state of her bed and a slight blush crept onto her cheeks as she remembered some of the highlights of last night. She shook her head to stop herself from falling down that particular rabbit hole, again, after her undoubtedly long shower. She walked over to the foot of her bed and glanced at her side table, its drawer was still open and still a disorganized mess.

“Probably gonna need more,” she whispered to herself.

_A lot more._ Her irritatingly honest inner voice added.

  
~~~~

  
Ben pulled up to his house, still pondering if he should have stayed with Gwen or not and silently hoping that his parents hadn’t noticed his obvious excursion last night or his even more obvious lack of actually being home right now.

As he quietly unlocked his front door and crept inside, he witnessed the worst sight imaginable; his parents standing by the kitchen counter casually enjoying their morning coffee.

“There you are, Ben, we were getting worried,” his dad said.

“Benjamin Kirby Tennyson, where were you all night?” his mom said.

He opened his mouth, with no clue what he was going to say, but before he could even trip over his tongue his dad interjected.

“Obviously he was out ‘ _heroing_ ’ again, like usual.”

Ben turned to his dad to try and correct him, although he still didn’t know what he would tell them, but his mom quickly furthered the misconception.

“Obviously, it’s obvious, I was being rhetorical,” she returned.

“Can we do this in the car, we’re going to be late,” he said, looking at his watch.

“God, you’re right. Okay sweetie, we’ll talk about this later,” she said as she walked toward ben.

Ben raised his hand to stop them and try to figure out what exactly is going so wrong here, just as his dad placed his hand square on his shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze.

“No more staying out until dawn during a school week, okay, sport?” he said.

“Be good, see you later…” his mom said while giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “And…take a shower. You smell.”

Ben turned around to watch his loving and attentive parents rush out the door without him having given a word of explanation or even one of his world class last second excuses he was sure he was just about to think up.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine by the way! Just had the best night of my life actually. Told Gwen how I felt. Even spent the night with her. Probably not in the right order…” he muttered in decreasing volume to no one in particular.

He sighed and absently placed the empty coffee mugs in the sink when his mother’s words struck him and he suddenly became curious what she had meant. He lifted his collar up and briefly sniffed inside his shirt.

“…I smell like Gwen,” he said with a fond half-smile.

 

~~~~

 

  
Author’s note:

I am still not sure how long I’ll continue this story, but I can promise at least one more chapter is in the works.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Ben sat sprawled out on his bed, stretching his arms up above him and relaxing into his pillow. He sighed contentedly and pulled an arm to rest behind his head, his hair still damp from his shower minutes ago. His phone chirped from beside him and he quickly snatched it and looked at the screen.

_Did you get back okay?_ The message displayed on screen under the name _Gwen_.

He smiled and started typing a reply.

_Were you worried about me?_

He waited for a reply as his smile effortlessly transformed into a subtle smirk.

_A simple yes would have sufficed, Ben._

_Yes._ He immediately followed with another text.

_Mom and Dad caught me sneaking in, but they thought I was out chasing bad guys._

_Crap, that’s not good. I didn’t even think about your parents catching us._

He could almost see her tapping her toe anxiously and wrinkling her nose in what he’d fondly entitled her _Nerd Face_ while she thought through all the ways things could possibly go wrong. Before he knew it, he’d already typed out his next message and it sat dimly on his phone screen.

_I miss you._ His finger loomed over the send button…

Shifting quickly to the backspace he held it down until the message was erased completely before starting the sentence over.

_We still on for meeting Grandpa?_ He sent the text.

He ran his fingers through his drying hair, sighing over his loss of nerve.

_Yeah, just give me a few minutes to get changed. You ready to go?_

His first thoughts drifted to what she might be wearing now, if anything. But he forced himself back on topic and quickly did some mental arithmetic to convert what “a few minutes” of _Gwen time_ would be in Greenwich mean time.

“ _Gwenwich_ mean time!” he snorted at his own wordplay.

_Yep. See you in a bit. I love…_ He erased the last two words and sent the text.

 

~~~~

 

Gwen stared at the last text and absently shifted her weight from one foot to the other, nervously bobbing a little in place.

_‘It doesn’t seem any different than before,’_ A pesky thought surfaced.

_‘It’s just texting, it’s not supposed to be anything special,’_ she adamantly thought back.

She sighed and tossed her phone on her bed as she turned to rummage through her closet for an outfit that satisfied her increasingly complex criteria for today’s not quite a date.

 

~~~~

 

Ben finished stocking his car by tucking a folded blanket into the trunk and slammed the hatch shut. He walked around to the driver’s side door and got in, promptly reversing from his driveway and speeding down the tiny urban street. After a few minutes of driving, he reached the last turn that led toward her house. Seeing her street, it suddenly felt so real, last night, this morning, whatever they were now and whatever more they’d become together. Thoughts of a future he hadn’t imagined in years suddenly surfaced and brought on a nerve-racking excitement as he turned into her driveway.

 

~~~~

 

Gwen sat at her desk, occasionally glancing out her window and pretending she wasn’t just waiting for Ben to arrive. She’d decided on wearing her normal outfit of simple skinny jeans and a red long-sleeve shirt over a white blouse, after all it’s just lunch with grandpa and you don’t own half a dozen identical pairs of the same clothes if you’re not going to wear them. Before long she caught a glimpse of his green car pull down the street and rushed downstairs without a thought.

She threw the door open with a huge smile on her face, and had to stop herself from running to meet him. She walked as casually as she could while she watched him exit his car and meet her halfway. As soon as they stood eye to eye, whatever façades they both held on to felt ridiculous and the pain of being apart was suddenly made unavoidably clear to them. In a moment they were in each other’s arms, embracing in a way that suggested years of separation, not mere hours.

“I missed you.” His low voice tickled her ear.

A tender sigh fell against his skin. “Me too…” She buried her face in the crook of his neck, vaguely wondering just when exactly he became her favorite scent.

The rumble of a car driving down the small neighborhood street forced them out of their small world belonging only to them. They reluctantly pulled away, each realizing how long they had been standing there and how odd it would seem to any onlookers. His hands dropped from her back to her hips, holding her firmly.

“Ready?” He asked.

She nodded and hummed a reply.

 

~~~~

 

It’s been a few minutes of comfortable quiet in the car, the gentle pressure from where their hands met being the only communication needed between them, until…

“So.” She began. “I know we probably shouldn’t tell our parents about us. But what about Grandpa?”

He thought seriously for a moment.

“I don’t know.”

“We can trust him.” She said.

“I know we can. And, I’m sure he’d even support us. But…we’d be asking him to lie for us.” He said.

She gripped his hand tight, hearing the obvious truth she’d been ignoring all this time. They can be together, or be honest, not both.

“He’s kept enough secrets from the family, I don’t want to be responsible for any others.” Ben finished.

“I get what you mean…”

“God, this sucks.” He collapsed further into his seat. “I finally have something I want to, shout from the rooftops, and we can’t even tell Grandpa Max.”

She chuckled softly, once again effortlessly freed from the heaviness in her chest by her beloved cousin.

She lifted their clasped hands up to her lips, placing a tender thank you kiss on the back of his hand.

 

~~~~

 

They drive up to the far edge of the trailer park, following the small dirt path all the way to their grandfather’s motor home, the Rustbucket II.

He parked the car a short way from the old vehicle and turned to Gwen, sharing an excited smile with each other before noticing the cream-colored RV door swing open and the familiar elderly gentleman step out.

They exit the car and practically run to greet him.

“Grandpa!” She exclaims.

Both of them get swept up in a big hug from their Grandfather.

They pull away from the group hug and he suddenly stared at them with a discerning look. The glee immediately disappeared from their faces.

“What is it?” he asked seriously.

They both fail to hide their shock and quickly shot an apprehensive look at one another.

“What’s what?” Ben tried to cover.

“You both look like you want to tell me something.” He said.

_‘How does he do that?_ Her mind screamed at her.

“Oh, um, I’m already getting scouted by a couple colleges I’ve had my eye on.” She flashed a sincere smile. She wasn’t lying, but it obviously wasn’t what she wanted to tell him.

“Yeah, and I think I found a new setting on the Ultimatrix.” He added a little too quickly.

The old plumber looked between them with a well-hidden skepticism, waiting a few moments longer than necessary to see if one of them would break. He finally smiled at them warmly, letting them tell their lie. After all, whatever it is, he’ll know when they want him to.

“That’s great, Gwen. I know how much you’ve been looking forward to next year,” he said. “You too, Ben,” he patted his shoulder.

They smiled at him, more in relief he didn’t question them further than in appreciation for his praise.

“Come on, lunch is almost ready.”

Max turned to head inside the Rustbucket and finish preparing the undoubtedly strange meal, leaving Ben and Gwen to share a final knowing glance before following inside the mobile home.

 

~~~~

 

 

Gwen set down a plate and cup on the wooden patio table, then followed with a napkin and a set of cutleries. She looked up at Ben from across the table who was mirroring her movements on his side while casually staring at her out of the corner of his eye, far more subtly than usual.

_‘He’s improving’_ She thought with a smirk.

He caught her eye again, now looking directly at her.

“Do you think he knows?” He whispered.

She quickly shushed him and peered behind her at the RV, careful to verify their grandfather was still inside.

“Later.” Was all she returned.

After the two cousins finished setting the table for lunch, Ben sat down and she followed shortly after, sliding closer on the bench until there was no longer space between them.

As they patiently waited for their grandfather to return with whatever meal he planned to test their taste buds with this time, she softly teased her thigh against his, purposely staring away as she rubbed against him.

“Gwen?” He called knowingly.

Her distinct lack of response made him grin at her game and he reached under the table for her hand, catching it and clasping it tight, slowly stroking his thumb in small circles over her knuckles.

She finally turned her head and looked at him, inviting him further with her eyes. He dropped his hand to her thigh, unconsciously dragging it up her leg as he leaned in toward her. She offered no resistance to either advance, leaning in slightly herself to try and meet him halfway.

The door of the RV creaked open and for a moment neither of them moved, caught in the same dangerous thought. Maybe they stay right there, just like that, and whatever happens will be fine.

Gwen offered a melancholic smile and on cue, they each parted from the other. She stood from the table and rushed to Grandpa Max’s side offering to help with the food he carried, which he gleefully relinquished.

They set down the three bowls of squishy grey mush and a large pitcher of lemonade before she rejoined Ben on the bench, this time opting to sit more than a few inches away.

“Looks…healthy, Grandpa.” Ben offered.

He smiled congenially. “It is.”

“Looks like grey matter.” She whispered.

“Yeah, if he was put in a blender.” He said.

She paused and looked at him curiously for a moment.

“Not…no, like actual, brain stuff.” She said.

“Oh. That too.” He said.

She scrunched her face to mask the humor that threatened to surface as she returned to her meal.

_‘The first bite is always the worst_.’ She remembered.

She held her breath and quickly downed a bite of the curious substance, thankful for the distraction of her grandpa’s voice.

“How have you two been?”

“We’re great.” She gently leaned her knee against his under the table. “Better than ever.”

“Yeah.” Ben agreed.

They each wore the same barely disguised grin on their faces.

“Either of you hear from Kevin lately?”

Ben’s faint smile turned to a complicated expression and he quietly hid his face behind spoonful’s of “brain stuff”.

“He’s fine, last I checked, why?” She said.

“Just wondering. I haven’t seen him since…Well. Speaking of, is there a chance you two are thinking of getting back together?” Grandpa max asked.

The sound of Ben choking on his last bite drew attention away from the topic. Max watched him with concern, while Gwen made a point of not looking in his direction as she hid her blush.

“Chew your food, Ben,” he said.

Ben nodded his head, sarcastically agreeing with the advice while grabbing for his glass and quickly downed a huge gulp of lemonade. He sighed heavily and cleared his throat.

“You alright, Son?” He asked.

Ben waved him off while pounding his fist at his chest.

“Fine.” His voice hoarse.

After the ordeal, Max turned back to his granddaughter, unfortunately not forgetting the question.

“Uh…no, not this time.” She said.

He raised his eyebrow with a curious look that once again asked for more information.

“He…just wasn’t right for me. There was, always _someone_ else…” she stared off in the distance as a nostalgic smile overtook her face. “I mean I feel like there’s someone else,” she added hastily, returning her attention to the table.

Their grandfather pondered her words for a moment, hopefully not as deductive as they knew he could be before finally breaking the uncomfortable atmosphere.

“Well good. Whatever makes you happy, pumpkin.” He flashed that warm smile that always made her believe his words.

The rest of the meal went more smoothly. Ben trapped Max in a long conversation about Plumber technology, and Gwen shared a few anecdotes about Anodites. Before they knew it, the afternoon was becoming evening.

Max glanced upward at the reddening sky and remarked. “Oh, look how late it’s gotten.”

Ben looked strangely unnerved by that revelation and voiced his concern. “Crap, it’s almost sunset.” He stood from the table and began placing his cup and cutlery on his plate.

“Something I should know, Ben?” Max asked.

Ben paused his tidying and looked up in a slight panic, but hid it as well as he could.

“You’re not turning into a werewolf again, are you?” Their grandpa finished with a chuckle.

Ben laughed it off and finished gathering his tableware. “Uh, no, not unless I want to.”

“Well it is late, maybe we should call it a day.” Max offered.

The three finished cleaning after lunch and stood outside the RV getting ready to say goodbye after a final farewell hug shared between them.

“It’s great to see you both so happy, I mean that.” Their grandfather said.

Ben glanced at Gwen despite himself as she moved toward their grandpa for another grateful hug.

“See you soon, Grandpa.” He said.

“Take care, you two.” He said.

On their way back to the car, Ben slows to a crawl and nervously ran his hand through his hair. She noticed he was no longer in step with her and turned to backtrack toward him.

“What’s the matter?” She asked.

“I was gonna ask you earlier but…”

She stepped even closer, nearly toe to toe with him.

“…Do you want to go out with me?” He finished.

Her face instantly lit up at his words.

“Like an actual date tog-”

“Yes! I’d love to.”

He mirrored her smile.

“…Great!”

“When? Where?” She didn’t bother to hide her excitement.

“I was kind of thinking, now.” he phrased it as a question.

“Now? Like right now? I’m not dressed for a date.”

“Of course you are, you look perfect.”

She placed her hands on his chest, watching him closely as she thought about the proposition. Eventually, she sighed softly and grinned her reply.

“This is dangerous, I can’t seem to say no to you.” She said.

“I promise to use my powers for good.” He feigned seriousness.

She chuckled. “You’d better.” She glanced warily at the RV behind his shoulder. “Come on.” She grabbed his hand and practically skipped the rest of the way to the car.

 

~~~~

 

They had just passed the city limits and wherever they were heading, it apparently warranted use of the highway. She hadn’t thought to ask where the date was, or even what it was. The idea of going out as a real couple was plenty to keep her mind occupied up to now. But now that the thought had crossed her mind.

“Where are we going anyway?” she finally asked.

“It’s a secret.” He grinned.

She shrugged it off and watched the scenery fly past as they sped down the rural road. It wasn’t that important to her anyway, she always enjoyed being with Ben, whether narrowly escaping death fighting aliens, or casual conversation between sips at Mr. Smoothies. Whatever he had planned, she knew she’d love it.

_‘Maybe a hotel.’_ She thought.

She pressed her head even closer to the glass as she kept staring out the window to hide the sudden redness she felt heat up her cheeks.

“I didn’t know they had a burger shack all the way out here” she murmured.

He made a buzzer sound with his mouth. “Wrong, guess again,” he said.                                  

She leaned back in her seat and angled herself toward him, cocking her head in a coy fashion.

“Oh?” She continued to play along.

“Hey, give me some credit.” He said.

“Then where is this mysterious date at?” she asked.

“It’s still a secret.” He said.

“Until you tell me.” She prompted.

He drew his fingers over his lips, pulling an imaginary zipper from one side to the other and shook his head in silence. She leaned over the divide and held her face near his, pausing just long enough to draw his attention from the endless road ahead.

“Please?” The word came far more heated than she intended and the heavy blush across both their faces made it clear they were remembering the same thing, last night. His lips parted, whether to speak or as a response to her immediate beauty, he didn’t know. He leaned in without a thought…

The telltale vibration of rough terrain shocked them from each other’s eyes and aimed them squarely back at the road, which they were currently drifting from onto the desert off the highway. Ben jolted the steering wheel and set the car back between the faded lines of the road. Both sat in silence as the heat on their faces doubled in embarrassment and their heartbeats slowly returned to near-normal speeds. He cleared his throat and she finally looked at him, releasing her anxious grip on the hem of her shirt.

“You’ll like it. I promise.” He said confidently.

It was another several minutes of quiet burn before they pulled off the highway and down a slender road coiling past a large grassy hill. He set the car in park at the base of the mound and turned to Gwen.

“We’re here.” He said.

“And _here_ is?” She asked.

He smiled warmly and exited the car. She followed warily as he walked around the back and opened the trunk. She peered inside with an appreciative sigh and finally understood when she noted the contents, a large wicker basket and a heavy blanket.

“Surprise.” He said softly.

She grabbed the handle of the basket and lifted it out of the trunk, leaving Ben to retrieve the blanket and shut the hatch. She set the basket on the lid of the trunk and Ben hopped up himself, staring at her as if eagerly awaiting some kind of praise.

“ _You_ made a picnic?”  She increduled.

“You bet I did,” he said.

She opened the basket and saw the plastic store-bought containers of food.

“I paid for food that doesn’t taste like I made it and put it in the basket all by myself.” He said.

She turned to him, withholding a smile.

“I’m very proud of you.” She said coolly.

He slid off the car’s trunk and stood next to her.

“I thought you would be.” He said through a grin.

“This is great, Ben, really.” She put her thumb on his chin and tilted his head away to place a soft kiss on his cheek.

She began to pull away but he snatched her wrist as it departed his face and gently pulled her back into a real kiss. Thoughts of staying just there and leaving the picnic for another time tempted her, but thankfully he stopped at only a kiss and continued on with his plan for their date.

On the way up the hill, he cautiously reached back for her hand, tapping his knuckles against hers to prompt a response. She glanced at him as she reciprocated and clasped onto his hand. He turned his head away but not before she could see the faint embarrassment on his face. It’s funny, they’ve already done far more provocative things, but something as simple as holding hands still makes him nervous.

“I made the sandwiches at least.” He said.

She chuckled as she quickened her pace with a hop to match him and hike close at his side.

Once at the top, it was impossible not to take in the breathtaking sight of the town alit in the distance.

“It’s easy to forget how beautiful it is when we’re down there.” She remarked.

Ben silently agreed, but was drawn to the sight of her as she easily dwarfed the beauty of any land or cityscape she admired.

Gwen somewhat reluctantly turned away from the scenery to spread the blanket out in a showy flourish, letting it fall perfectly in place on the flattest surface they could find on the rounded hilltop. Ben set the basket down on the fabric and after sitting down across from each other, they wordlessly set to work removing containers of food from the wicker vessel, retrieving the food and displaying it across the far end of the blanket in effortless synchronicity.

With the basket emptied and a satisfyingly large pile of food set beside them, Gwen wasted no time going for the treat she’d had her eye on since the reveal at the car, a bowl of strawberries with a fresh tub of whipped cream. She snatched the largest, shiniest berry she could find and dipped it into the cream before bringing it to her mouth and biting off more than half in a single go.

She was so caught up in enjoying the snack she only now noticed Ben intently staring at her with a satisfied half-smirk.

She hastily finished the second bite, forgoing the previous reverence and barely waited for her mouth to be clear before engaging him.

“What?” She asked through a chuckle.

“I have something for you.”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a single yellow rose he had tucked gently in the inner pocket, holding it out between them and offering it to her.

She gasped pleasantly. “Ben…”

She gingerly retrieved the flower, as though it were it such an impossible thing that she would get a gift like this from him, that it might shatter if she held it too tightly. She gently brought the petals to her nose and inhaled the fresh scent, vaguely wondering if she focused enough if she could smell him on the flower too.

He clearly took care in keeping the flower safe all day but the petals still looked a little weathered, the stem a little crooked. The worn state of the flower didn’t take away from the beauty, or the gesture, if anything it somehow made it feel more special, that it stayed with him until the moment it became hers.

He watched her eyes glowing in the fading sunlight, so enthralled by the sight of her he couldn’t look away if he tried. Everyone had always told them they have the same eyes, but it wasn’t exactly true. He’d spent enough of his life looking into her eyes that he could see the differences from his own. The tiny specks of gold and bronze that fletched her irises, the darker ring of green surrounding her pupils, and of course—she peered up at him from behind her flower, her stare heavy with unspoken emotion—his eyes could never look that damn sexy.

“Something on my face?” she asked behind a coquettish smile.

He shook his head with a smirk while continuing his unwavering eye contact. She cooed and leaned toward him, enticing him to her lips. He closed his eyes as she grew closer and she dipped her finger in the bowl of whipped cream, scooping out a small glob and quickly dabbed it onto his nose.

She smiled proudly as she saw her handiwork while he simply glared at her, barely stifling the grin that threatened to break free as he feigned discontent.

“You’re gonna regret that.” He said.

“Oh yeah?”

He scooped whipped cream out of the tub with three fingers and smeared it down her cheek and across her mouth as she gasped and chuckled.

He grinned and hummed a victorious retort, clearly a little too satisfied with himself. Being practiced at ignoring his attempts to rile her up, she simply drew her finger across her face, wiping the smooth substance off her cheek and into her mouth before lightly sucking her finger clean with a contented moan. Then she looked at him with a mischievous smile before driving her fist into the half-empty tub and grabbing an entire handful of the treat, holding it up threateningly.

“Gwen…” He started nervously.

She looked at him with a curious tilt to her head and hummed a question, as though she wasn’t nonchalantly threatening him with death by cream.

“…Don’t you dare.” He couldn’t help but chuckle.

Her phony animosity finally broke and she let out a small giggle, dropping her hand slightly and losing the advantage. He took the opportunity to tackle her to the ground, seizing the upper hand, albeit briefly as she quickly pushed him off balance and rolled over to pin him as they both collapsed into a fit of laughter. As the moment stilled, he leaned up and kissed her passionately as their hands naturally found each other and clasped together, squishing the handful of whipped cream through their fingers as they entwined them together.

“I love you.” He said.

She gently licked the droplet of cream off the tip of his nose. “And I love you.”

He unceremoniously pulled her down and rolled her body beneath him, enticing the softest gasp out of her that preluded the next word.

 “Be-” his name was silenced in her throat as he covered her lips with his own and stole away any feeling from her but bliss.

When he had finally withdrawn from her mouth, he shifted his focus to her neck, kissing and sucking at her nape in quenchless thirst as his non-foundational hand roved her body aimlessly.

“God, Ben…”

By this point during his tender worship of her neck, her leg had found its way effortlessly wrapped around his hip, silently coaxing him further into her embrace.

The subtle but telltale moan tickling his eardrum tore him from his otherwise single-minded assault on her collarbone and gave him a moment to remember what brought him to this point.

He carefully sat himself up, pulling her with him as she repositioned herself comfortably in his lap.

Two layers of denim aren’t enough to hide his need, she can feel how much he wants this, how he wants her, and if she let this continue any longer, she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop herself. He moves to kiss her again, to make her lose herself in his taste and forget everything that doesn’t matter, everything but them. The rational part of her is losing ground as she begs her body to give in, to just do nothing and let him take the last shred of reason from her. Before he can connect with her lips, before he can rob her burdened mind of resistance and give her abject serenity, before she can consider how much she’ll regret it, she spoke.

“Ben…we still have a picnic to enjoy.”

“I’m enjoying it.” He smirked.

“We…really, really can’t.”

He ran his hand up her hip toward her chest…

“Ben.” Her breath strained.

He held himself back, swallowing a sigh and relenting his intention. He moved just shy of her lips, teasing his presence before speaking.

“You win. Let’s eat.”

He released his grip at her sides, but apart from the rise and fall of their chests colliding together, they each sat perfectly still.

“Gwen, you aren’t moving.”

I-I know.” Her lips closed over his, preempting whatever comment was being prepared.

She broke the kiss before either could fully lose themselves and pressed her forehead against his, holding his face still.

“Is it always going to be this hard?” She whispered.

“No, he calms down after a while.” He smirked.

“Not _that,_ Ben!” She shifted her weight to topple him onto his back and slid off him to lie at his side.

“Things’ll get easier. It’s all just so new, you know?” He said.

She turned to press off his chest and lean up to kiss his cheek, whispering a small thank you in his ear before shifting up to sit once more on the slightly disheveled blanket.

They returned to the picnic, trying bites of each food between conversations and deciding unsurprisingly that strawberries and cream were the favorite of the day.

 

~~~~

 

The drive home was not as quiet as the previous trip, the time seemingly shorter on the return with the nervous excitement replaced by the comfortable bliss they seem to settle into after their usual overthinking collapses.

Ben shifted his grip on the steering wheel, feeling the slight resistance from the sticky residue on his hand and subtly glanced toward the person responsible with smiling eyes.

Before long they were pulling into the driveway of her house, and the blissful mood dimmed in an instant. The prospect of tomorrow filled them with hope and, _ideas,_ but tomorrow seemed so far away when they had half a town between them.

She exited the car swiftly, wanting the strangely painful action over with as quickly as possible. He followed her and walked solemnly beside her all the way up to her front door.

He gently pulls her into a warm embrace, trying to memorize every little detail he could, her warmth, her scent, the tiniest hitch in her breath when he runs his hands across her back, everything that makes the next part so impossible.

She can’t say goodbye, not yet. She grabs the pockets of his jeans and drags him back to the far edge of her porch, where the front windows can’t see, and locks him in a heated kiss with the intent to keep them satisfied for the next ten or so agonizing hours they’ll be apart. He’d already managed to back her against the wall before she realized she was clawing at his pants in an ill-advised attempt to escalate things further. He pulled back slightly, it apparently being his turn this time to be the mature one. She followed his example and released her grip on his pants, but moved her hands behind his shoulders and wouldn’t let him retreat any more.

“Are you sure I can’t come upstairs? He asked.

She let out a painfully defeated sigh as she leaned her head on his shoulder and whispered against his ear.

“I wish you could.”

He held his head against hers, breathing in the calming scent of her fading shampoo.

“Tomorrow morning? Breakfast?” He asked.

“Can’t wait.” She cooed.

A parting kiss said all they needed as she disappeared into her house and Ben began his lamentable journey home.

 

~~~~

 

It had hardly been an hour since he left Gwen and the prospect of sleeping without her on his arm already left a sour feeling in his gut, he could tell this was a Sumo-Slammers-until-passing-out kind of night.

His phone chirped softly with a message from Gwen.

_Today was perfect._

Followed by another text _._

_I already miss you._

He immediately replied.

_Me too. I can’t wait to see you again._

A minute passed without a reply and thankfully, before a mild panic could set in, he heard his phone chirp again, this time with an image waiting for him in the message box.

He opened the image and was met with the most welcomed sight, exactly what he was silently hoping for. A photo of Gwen lying stretched out in her bed wearing only her semi-sheer nightgown he was now intimately familiar with. Posing a sweet half-smile, and only showing a tantalizingly small portion of her cleavage, she was clearly not trying to be sexy, but she didn’t need to try.

_Not what I meant, but I’m not complaining._ He replied back.

_I thought you’d like that. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow, sweet dreams…_

_Goodnight, beautiful. I love you._ He pressed the send key and held it longer than necessary to make a point to himself.

_I love you too. Goodnight, Ben._

Sleep came much easier than he thought, barely an hour of _KOing_ bad guys and he managed to slip into unconsciousness himself. Maybe the desire to see Gwen the next day was stronger than the feeling of emptiness in his bed. As soon as he opened his eyes the next morning, he reached for his phone to text Gwen good morning. After a few moments without a reply he left his bed to shower and get dressed, lazing through his morning routine and only really waiting to hear from his love. His body clean, his teeth brushed and his shirt very nearly on, he heard his phone ringing from his bedside table. He quickly dove onto his bed, ignoring how silly it surely looked, and snatched his phone from beside him, sitting up to a comfortable position as he quickly noted the caller was who he’d been waiting for and answered the call.

“I was just thinking about you.” He said through a smile.

“Ben.” Her voice was hoarse, pained.

His heart sank to his stomach, he could hear that she’d been crying.

“Gwen, what’s wrong?” He jumped to the edge of the bed, primed to run out the door, and all the way to her if need be.

“…They know.”

The words hit him hard, practically knocking the wind out of him, so much so that he didn’t hear the sharp knocks at the door. His bedroom door swung open, revealing his parents standing in the hallway wearing the bitterest looks of displeasure he could remember in recent years. Ben’s father signaled with his finger in a “come here” motion.

“Yeah, I think they do.”

 


End file.
